In the past, numerous attempts have been made to provide a frozen or solid ethanol product. However, a problem has been that very low temperatures have been required. For example, one approach is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,809,809 which discloses the combination of vodka or other alcoholic beverages with sodium metabisulfate and gelatin but, while estirification of ethanol in the presence of sodium metabisulfate is mentioned, a liquid product is not directly available because solidification is achieved by drying or vacuum dehydration whereas an object of the present invention is to preserve alcohol and water together in a homogenous solid.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,790,999 to Ashmont, et al. a soft ice made from alcohol and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose is described but the end product is not hard, whereas another object of the present invention is to provide a relatively hard product.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003/0215548 A1 to Mihajlovic discloses an ice cream that contains ethyl alcohol, gelatin, and sodium carborymethyl cellulose. This publication mentions trapping microscopic portions of an ethyl alcohol/water solution in a tri-dimensional gel structure to reduce the interaction of ethyl alcohol with milk proteins and flavors in ice cream so that the flavor and aroma of the ice cream are preserved. However, an object of the present invention is to provide a machine and method for producing a homogenous, hard, solid ethanol product without an ice cream mix.
In U.S. Patent Publication No. 2004/0253360 A1 to Squireiarini, a hard frozen food containing alcohol and pectin as the gelling agent is disclosed. However, significant dilution with water is described and a freezing temperature of −20° F. is employed, whereas an object of the present invention is to avoid dilution and achieve hard freezing at temperatures close to the freezing point of water. Further, US Patent Publication No. 2008/0041070 A1 discloses an alcohol infused ice cube and dispenser but requires a temperature of about 0° F. where an object of the present invention is to provide a homogenous product with a relatively high alcohol content which is solid within a few significantly higher temperatures.
The foregoing and other objects are achieved by the present invention which is described below.